Catalysis is a process that increases the rate at which a chemical reaction proceeds. A catalyst is a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction, but is not consumed by the chemical reaction. One class of catalysts is enzymes. Similar to other types of catalysts, enzymes speed up reactions by reducing the activation energy for a particular chemical change In enzymatic reactions, enzymes specifically associate with a substrate, and the enzyme catalyzes the chemical conversion of the substrate to a product.
Enzymatic processes are used in wide range of industrial and consumer product applications. As such, the cost of the enzyme is frequently a very significant fraction of the cost of the process or product. Therefore, the capability to increase the efficiency of the enzyme in the enzymatic process product would be very cost-effective. For example, the efficiency of the enzyme could be increased by increasing the rate of the enzymatic process or by reducing the quantity of enzyme needed to achieve a target level of conversion of substrate In one method for the production of biofuels, corn can be milled, and some of the components therein (e.g., starch) can be converted to simple sugars (e.g., glucose) by amylase enzymes. The simple sugars derived from the enzymatic hydrolysis of starch can then be fermented to produce ethanol. In another method for the production of biofuels, cellulosic biomass, such as wood or switchgrass, can be used for the production of ethanol. In such methods, enzymatic conversion of cellulose to simple sugars is performed through the use of enzymes, such as cellulase, and the simple sugars can be fermented to produce ethanol.
In the above methods of enzymatic production of biofuels, the cost of the enzyme is a significant production cost. Thus, compositions, systems, and methods to increase the efficiency of the enzymes, thereby reducing the amount of enzyme needed for such enzymatic processes, would result in significant cost savings, increasing the commercial viability of biofuels generated by enzymatic processes.
Accordingly, there is a need for compositions, systems, and methods to increase the efficiency of the enzymes. It is to the provision of such compositions, systems, and methods to increase the efficiency of the enzymes that the various embodiments of the present invention are directed.